Day: October 14, 2013

The most popular and widely-collected prewar card issue is undoubtedly the T206 issue. While the player selection is large and includes a large number of Hall of Famers, and the multitude of back varieties lends varying degress of scarcity to the set, the issue also includes a number of rarities that represent some of the ultimate challenges to collectors.

The Sherry Magee “Magie” error is one of them. Known as the fourth of the “Big Four” rarities in the set (the other three being the venerable Honus Wagner, Eddie Plank, and “Slow Joe” Doyle (N.Y. Nat’l) cards), the Magie’s error is perhaps the least romantic from a collecting standpoint, and yet that is part of its appeal. While nobody definitively knows the reason for the Plank and Wagner rarities, and the Doyle rarity is so extremely rare that it escapes all but the most well-funded collectors, the reason for the Magie rarity is simple: Magee’s name was initially misspelled, and corrected during the initial Piedmont 150 printing.

Despite the variation only being known with the Piedmont 150 (Factory 25) back, it is still considered by most collectors to be a necessary card for completion of the T206 set. It is for this reason that its value continues to rise. One of the hobby’s most important rarities, it is thought that only 150-200 examples of this card exist, the demand for this card far exceeding the supply as more and more collectors tackle T206 and its many challenges.

Graded VG 3 by PSA, this example is one of the more attractive of the midgrade Magies. With strong, bold color (along with some visible surface wear), the card is marred by rounded corners consistent with the grade, and yet remains a striking example. With an extremely high percentage of the known Magies existing on the lower end of the grade spectrum, an example as striking as this is highly desirable and will be extremely sought after for years to come.

A very attractive example of one of the hobby’s most important and well-known cards.